359 Comments

My only home invaders over the past 49 years have been ants. They're usually easily dealt with by some light cleaning and some vinegar.

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Boiling water, if you really want to piss them off. Or a gallon of gas and a match if you want to risk burning down the neighborhood . . .

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If you're going to have a firearm for hunting, I say you can't shoot anything that isn't at least as well armed as you.

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Effing gutless weasels -- all of them. Ryan, McConnell, Trump and the Trumpettes, the Bannonites. All of them. Too gutless to even SAY anything bad about gunhumpers who kill innocent people, much mess DO anything about gunhumpers who kill innocent people. Bastards all. "Here, wounded Americans: Have a free roll of paper towels that I buy by the trainload for my cheap-ass hotels. Love, your president, who has taxpayer-funded protection." Fuck you.

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Isn't asking people not to politicize shootings itself a politicalization of mass shootings?

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I know that cardio will definitely reduce anxiety, I don't know much about what it does for testosterone levels. As long as you don't start heavy strength training and consuming more protein to compensate it should be beneficial. I'm not a doctor so I'm not reallly strong on the connection between stress and testosterone production as far as the chicken or the egg part.

I don't know your situation, but if the anxiety continues this way, a counselor helped me out a lot with anger recently. I sleep better now. I was starting to head down that path again, and it only took about 4 months to help me get back on track. No need for a full on shrink or a pill pusher. Counselors are generally more focused on fixing your habits and behavior, which can be the root cause of the feelings you described, they don't try to open your head up and pour all the dirt on the table to sort through. They also don't have the medicine chest so no benzos!

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How could anyone believe in a bullet that doesn't go through walls unless it's an air soft gun? I've put my fist through walls with little effort, but I've never put my fist through a human despite maximum effort. What good would a bullet that doesn't go through walls be for self defense? It can't be for a stun effect. The people I hit with my fist didn't have guns but most of them kept fighting. If a bullet isn't as strong as my fist, the armed home invader can keep shooting. I wonder if these people get all their ballistic knowledge from playing Call of Duty. They should just get bigger dogs like me.

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After the pellets go through the wall, their impact is greatly reduced. Bullets are designed to pierce, so unless they hit a stud directly, they will go through drywall like paper. Most of the damage a shotgun produces is close range, and based on the combined impact of all the pellets. If they hit something first, they lose a lot of power. Of course if you're standing on the other side of the wall you're still going to the ER or the morgue.

With all those factors I go with two big dogs. Even an armed home invader is not interested in hoping they get a kill shot before the dog gets a grip. Much less two.

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I don't know how protein affects testosterone levels either, but my eating strategy is to focus on proteins and good fats since November. Because I can't eat much, I eat small portions of protein. Usually tuna or peanut butter on whole grain bread. I have low sodium and couldn't plaque an artery if I tried, so I don't have to worry about avoiding/limiting food groups. But that protein-heavy diet probably is part of why I'm so... muscle-y.

I had a lengthy consult with my Doc and the group prescribing psychiatrist early this year. This type of intractable, existential anxiety is difficult to treat and I'm maxed out on my meds already. I was feeling particularly shitty because I use cannabis to treat it and it works well, but I'm not really an out-and-proud stoner. After a couple of conversations the upshot was, 'Well, if it's working for you...'. which is probably about all my 'mainstream' healthcare team can say about it. I live in CO, so it's readily available at my local, very friendly, dispensary.

The psychiatrist suggested Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT. It took me a couple of months before I checked it out and it really hit the nail right on the head. I was afraid it was some fad thing, but it's really not. Simply watching a video explaining it helped tremendously. I followed up with Headspace, a meditation app my doc recommended and it's really helped outside of some flare-ups (like this week). I highly recommend Headspace (quick, effective 10 minute guided meditations). It's not free though and I let my subscription drop for now but since I've used it quite a bit, I can usually corral my mind and do a meditation on my own.

Thank you so very much. Sometimes talking through this stuff with a friend is so helpful! Thanks again!

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I wondered about that too. I don't know much about Scotland, but I just assume vulgar language is the norm. Like a parliamentary debate would sound like:

Representative for the bill says, " Aye yeh wee coont yeh! Ow exahctly do we operate with oorng aired sheetgibbons fooking about in our greens!?"

Opponent says, "Fook you, yeh cow!"

I'm sure Scotland is probably not like that, but it's more fun to believe that it is.

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If circumstances dictate the conflict be up close & personal, you can't get much more destructive than a quilter's rotary cutter. A round razor blade in housing that enables it to roll like a wheel can remove an assortment of small body parts.

For emergencies not quite so intimate, we'll rely on The Husband's shotgun. My reproduction Old West six-shooter (a real gun but not a real antique) hasn't been fired in years and I'm not sure I even remember how to load it. Those two items plus a never-fired derringer my Dad got decades ago as a gag gift comprise our entire arsenal.

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If you have something in the oven, there's also the Edith Bunker Cookie Sheet defense.

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And don't forget the games of tag, dodgeball and Red Rover. If your kids are going to get killed, they can get killed by a deranged shooter like everybody else.

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Everything you say is reasonable. Which is why it has no chance of getting through to someone who sounds as if he is looking forward to a shoot-out in his family home.

Bigger dogs is a good idea. Of course my first choice would be to run and avoid any confrontation at all. And I would want my family to run even faster.

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Thanks for the information. My knowledge of shotguns---if "knowledge" is even the right word here--is limited to tv shows and they tend to emphasize the bloody mess left by a shotgun blast.

I am somewhat familiar with drywall, though, and I have made holes in it without even trying.

The bottom line is that a person's family home is not really a good place to stage a home invasion shootout. Anyone who feels otherwise has watched too many John Wayne movies.

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I absolutely agree. The best defense if you are concerned is window bars, solid doors and large dogs. Really the large dogs will take care of it.

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